In submissions to the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen has defended the proposal to lease sections of Mombasa and Lamu ports to private entities. https://bit.ly/3uaBMLr
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00:00 We are saying bring in a private sector at large scale.
00:06 Number one, improve on the economy.
00:13 Increase the number of goods that are
00:15 going to come through the port.
00:17 Why?
00:18 Because you are bringing somebody
00:20 who has the capacity to put $2 billion, $3 billion, $5 billion.
00:26 The government of Kenya cannot do that.
00:28 Bring somebody who will pay back the government of Kenya
00:31 the investment they have.
00:33 $1 billion, $2 billion, $3 billion,
00:35 depending on their valuation.
00:39 We get that money up front and invest it elsewhere,
00:42 again to create in the government
00:45 another business corner there.
00:47 Let this private investor come in.
00:49 Take example of Lamu.
00:54 Lamu, you have three boats.
00:55 You've spent $60 billion.
00:58 How many goods are going through Lamu?
00:59 Zero.
01:01 Once in three months, you have one ship
01:03 that comes from Oman, picks up livestock, and then it goes.
01:07 Nothing else.
01:08 Yet $60 billion is just lying there in three parts.
01:12 Get the person who has the capacity
01:14 to come and develop the special economic zone
01:17 with the expertise globally of having done that job.
01:21 Create employment of 10,000, 20,000 new employments
01:24 in the place over a period of time.
01:28 Unlock the place for business, transshipment, and so forth,
01:31 meaning you employ more people and make Lamu functional.
01:35 What Kenya has at the moment in terms of capacity and resources,
01:39 they can't do it because they are not a global logistic
01:42 company.
01:43 They are a Kenyan public company doing business within Kenya.
01:47 They have no muscle, financial muscle.
01:50 But a business entity can bring billions of money
01:52 to unlock that potential.
01:54 In Mombasa itself, by 11 to 14, it's just lying there.
01:58 The amount of resources given to us
01:59 is not to the level that we would like to get.
02:02 By 16 to 17, I mean the city one,
02:06 increase the capacity of that city one to be able to improve.
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